The Fairfield men’s basketball team entered Alumni Hall on Saturday night knowing that they needed to win the game.
They were facing a 0-7 St. Francis (NY) Terriers team and were about to face two major conference teams, Providence and Boston College.
Without a win, the Stags were looking at the possibility of entering the MAAC season with a 1-10 record.
Instead, the Stags came through in the clutch and defeated the Terriers 68-64 in overtime in front of a sold out Alumni Hall.
The Red Sea charged the court in celebration, taking the opportunity to celebrate the win and show that they support the team no matter what their record is.
Cooley believed that the charging of the court showed a lot about the Fairfield community.
“I was really happy for our kids, I think it is telling our kids that we are doing something right; that level of support,” Cooley said.
“You are looking at a team that on paper is 2-7; I think that our fans and our community don’t think we are a 2-7 team based on the effort that these kids have given.”
The emotion was a true testament to how the Fairfield community has embraced Cooley and his team.
“I was really excited to see that, and I can’t say how proud I am of our community to come out and support a team that is going through a rebuilding process and showing us some love,” he added.
The Stags were led by seniors Michael Van Schaick, who had a team-high 19 points, and Marty O’Sullivan, who had a game-high 11 rebounds and nine points.
Van Schaick has now led the team in scoring during the last three games and raised his season scoring average to 11.9 points per game.
He connected on five three point shots, raising his career total to 94 and moving him into a tie for ninth place with Troy Bradford `89 on Fairfield’s all-time list.
Both seniors hit big shots when the game was on the line in overtime. O’Sullivan hit a three pointer at the beginning of overtime to start the Stags on a 7-0 run.
The Stags did allow St. Francis to charge back with seven points of their own, but Van Schaick made a three to give the Stags the lead with 40 seconds left.
Van Schaick said that he believed he and all of the upperclassmen must take on the role as the go-to players for Fairfield.
“I think all the upperclassmen have to take on that role,” said Van Schaick. “I don’t think it is just one guy. Sometimes when the younger guys are struggling, the upperclassmen have to step up.”
Herbie Allen `09 was put on the line with eight seconds left in overtime and he was forced to step up. Allen connected on both free throws to extend the lead to four points. This won Fairfield a tight game, something they could not do against American University and Holy Cross.
After the game Allen remarked on the pressure.
“There was really no pressure. I have been working on my free throws all week with [Associate Head Coach Bob Simon] and Coach Cooley,” Allen said.
Freshman forward Greg Nero, who had struggled in the past two games against double teams by the opponents, had 15 points, second on the team. Cooley felt that it was important to get Nero scoring again.
“We are trying to get Greg the ball. He is getting so much attention from the opponent, we need to try and move him around from the interior to the perimeter and coming off screens,” Cooley said.
“If you just keep him in one spot he is easy to double, and as you have seen in the last three games, teams are coming hard to try and double him,” Cooley continued.
Fairfield entered the game against Providence on Monday night riding the high of their victory on Saturday. However, Fairfield could not pull out an upset over the Providence Friars.
The Stags fell 67-50, but as they have for most of the season, they played well for stints. Fairfield brought the score within four points with 10 minutes left in play, but then allowed Providence to go on a 22-9 run to finish the game.
Fairfield shot only 39 percent from the floor, while allowing the Friars to shoot 55 percent. Van Schaick scored nine points, while Anthony Johnson `10 led the team with 10. Fellow freshman Rich Flemming had his best game of the year, with nine points.
On Wedensday the Stags took on Cooley’s former team Boston College. For more information and a game recap visit www.fairfieldmirror.com.
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